Trying to fix the train wrecks left by the Zuma-Gupta machinations
● Parliament’s state capture inquiry veered between laughing stock and rolling stock this week as Lucky Montana, former CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, described the now customary meetings at which Gupta brothers appear as if by magic, demanding their cut on lucrative deals. Montana said Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Ben Martins had brought the Guptas to him; Martins naturally said it was the other way round. And if he had arranged such a meeting, so what? “I could have tea with Mr Duduzane Zuma, I could have tea with Tony Gupta, but, if there’s nothing wrong, there’s nothing wrong,” Martins said.
The post-Zuma era brought fresh dismay for Gupta-tainted enterprises, this time ANN7, now owned by Mzwanele Manyi. MultiChoice announced it would dump the channel, a loyal backer of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s doomed bid for power, in August this year. But MultiChoice, which was previously quick to cozy up to powerful figures in the Gupta camp, must have been surprised at the avalanche of criticism that came its way.